Systemic Severity and Organ Dysfunction in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Large Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute physiologic derangements and multiple organ dysfunction are common after subarachnoid hemorrhage. We aimed to evaluate the simplified acute physiology score 3 (SAPS-3) and the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores for the prediction of in-hospital mortality in a large multicenter cohort of SAH patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from 45 ICUs in Brazil, during 2014 and 2015. Patients admitted with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were included. Clinical and outcome data were retrieved from an electronic ICU quality registry. SAPS-3 and SOFA scores, without the neurological components (i.e., nSAPS-3 and nSOFA, respectively) were recorded, as well as the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) scale. We used multilevel logistic regression analysis to identify factors associated with in-hospital mortality. We evaluated performance using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), as well as calibration belts and precision-recall plots. RESULTS: The study included 997 patients, from which 426 (43%) had poor clinical grade (WFNS 4 or 5) and in-hospital mortality was 34%. Median nSAPS-3 and nSOFA score at admission were 46 (IQR: 38-55) and 2 (0-5), respectively. Non-survivors were older, had higher nSAPS-3 and nSOFA, and more often poor grade. After adjustment for age, poor grade and withdrawal of life sustaining therapies, multivariable analysis identified nSAPS-3 and nSOFA score as independent clinical predictors of in-hospital mortality. The AUROC curve that included nSAPS-3 and nSOFA scores significantly improved the already good discrimination and calibration of age and WFNS to predict in-hospital mortality (AUROC: 0.89 for the full final model vs. 0.85 for age and WFNS; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: nSAPS-3 and nSOFA scores were independently associated with in-hospital mortality after SAH. The addition of these scores improved early prediction of hospital mortality in our cohort and should be integrated to other specific prognostic indices in the early assessment of SAH.

ICU staffing feature phenotypes and their relationship with patients' outcomes: an unsupervised machine learning analysis.

PURPOSE: To study whether ICU staffing features are associated with improved hospital mortality, ICU length of stay (LOS) and duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) using cluster analysis directed by machine learning. METHODS: The following variables were included in the analysis: average bed to nurse, physiotherapist and physician ratios, presence of 24/7 board-certified intensivists and dedicated pharmacists in the ICU, and nurse and physiotherapist autonomy scores. Clusters were defined using the partition around medoids method. We assessed the association between clusters and hospital mortality using logistic regression and with ICU LOS and MV duration using competing risk regression. RESULTS: Analysis included data from 129,680 patients admitted to 93 ICUs (2014-2015). Three clusters were identified. The features distinguishing between the clusters were: the presence of board-certified intensivists in the ICU 24/7 (present in Cluster 3), dedicated pharmacists (present in Clusters 2 and 3) and the extent of nurse autonomy (which increased from Clusters 1 to 3). The patients in Cluster 3 exhibited the best outcomes, with lower adjusted hospital mortality [odds ratio 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87-0.98)], shorter ICU LOS [subhazard ratio (SHR) for patients surviving to ICU discharge 1.24 (95% CI 1.22-1.26)] and shorter durations of MV [SHR for undergoing extubation 1.61(95% CI 1.54-1.69)]. Cluster 1 had the worst outcomes. CONCLUSION: Patients treated in ICUs combining 24/7 expert intensivist coverage, a dedicated pharmacist and nurses with greater autonomy had the best outcomes. All of these features represent achievable targets that should be considered by policy makers with an interest in promoting equal and optimal ICU care.

Association of frailty with short-term outcomes, organ support and resource use in critically ill patients.

PURPOSE: Frail patients are known to experience poor outcomes. Nevertheless, we know less about how frailty manifests itself in patients' physiology during critical illness and how it affects resource use in intensive care units (ICU). We aimed to assess the association of frailty with short-term outcomes and organ support used by critically ill patients. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of prospective collected data from 93 ICUs in Brazil from 2014 to 2015. We assessed frailty using the modified frailty index (MFI). The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were discharge home without need for nursing care, ICU and hospital length of stay (LOS), and utilization of ICU organ support and transfusion. We used mixed logistic regression and competing risk models accounting for relevant confounders in outcome analyses. RESULTS: The analysis consisted of 129,680 eligible patients. There were 40,779 (31.4%) non-frail (MFI = 0), 64,407 (49.7%) pre-frail (MFI = 1-2) and 24,494 (18.9%) frail (MFI ≥ 3) patients. After adjusted analysis, frailty was associated with higher in-hospital mortality (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.89-3.08), particularly in patients admitted with lower SOFA scores. Frail patients were less likely to be discharged home (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.54-0.79) and had higher hospital and ICU LOS than non-frail patients. Use of all forms of organ support (mechanical ventilation, non-invasive ventilation, vasopressors, dialysis and transfusions) were more common in frail patients and increased as MFI increased. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty, as assessed by MFI, was associated with several patient-centered endpoints including not only survival, but also ICU LOS and organ support.

Distúrbios do equilíbrio hidroeletrolítico e do equilíbrio acidobásico: uma revisäo prática / Fluid, electrolyte and acid-base disorders: a practical review

O equilíbrio hidroeletrolítico e o equilíbrio acidobásico säo assuntos de importância para todas as especialidades. Porém, seu entendimento prático é, por vezes, revestido de variados graus de dificuldades. No presente texto apresenta-se o assunto apenas como uma visäo prática, adquirida em mais de vinte (20) anos de ensino para estudantes, médicos residentes e médicos pós-graduandos. O texto tem apenas a pretensäo didática, sem nenhuma preocupaçäo acadêmica